Tanzania Blog July 30th

There are three teachers that I have gotten to share preparatory class with. Their names are Madame Mariam, Miss Catherine, and Miss Dyness.  On the morning of day one of teaching last Monday, these three people could not have been more intimidating. Intimidation dissolves, however, when you sit down to have a legitimate conversation with someone, and as it turns out, Miss Catherine hides quite the tale. Originally from Kenya, she moved to Arusha as a toddler, where she was raised by a man that she calls her brother, but is just the only person who was there for her. Her mother had died, and the father was unable to leave Kenya. In Arusha, young Catherine flew through primary and secondary school and teacher training and began teaching three years ago. She is in her early twenties now. When I first heard this, I needed a few moments to take it in. First of all, Miss Catherine obviously has an extremely high intelligence level. To have finished schooling at such a young age is quite the accomplishment, much more in an absurdly flawed education system like Tanzania’s. Also to have such a turbulent childhood as well is almost unbelievable. I am beyond impressed, and I think that this instance proves the message that potential can come from anywhere, it just needs opportunity.

            By little conversations here and there, I have learned a little bit about the other teachers and staff. For example, Mr. Geoffrey, the most outgoing character at the school, showed us photos of himself in uniform when he was in the military doing splits and other impressive feats. I never would have guessed that he had this background, but I’m glad I know now. Today we visited the home of one of the sisters that helps cook and clean at LOAMO who also has two kids that attend the school. Her home was definitely nicer than other homes we have visited. She told us that she and her husband had saved up money for 15 years, ten of which she spent at LOAMO, just to have enough to move out of the mud home they were living in previously. I love to hear these stories because it puts the people with the essence of the school.

            With the level of development of the human race, you would want to believe that our ability to all live together peacefully is just as advanced. Look at the current political and societal state of many places around the world, and you find we are far behind where we should be. This weekend we visited a town not far from Arusha called Mto Wa Mbu, Mosquito River. The most unique thing about this place is the people, not the mosquitoes. More than 120 tribes live in Tanzania, and in this small town, 120 different tribes are represented. To put this in perspective, less than 20 tribes live in Mozambique, but they have been in constant conflict. Meanwhile, in Mto Wa Mbu, not a single drop of blood has been shed over tribal conflictions. Not only that, but they all shared the same mutual respect for each other. I know I talked about this in my earlier blog, but it is worth repeating to the entire world one million times. WE CAN GET ALONG. Going deeper into this subject, a particular story we heard was about the Makande people. They lived in Mozambique until civil war forced them to leave with no food or water for miles and miles on end. They were welcomed by Tanzania and its people and peacefully and happily carried on their ways in Tanzania even after war ended back at their home. They now continue their tradition of carving wooden sculptures like the one they gave to the first president of Tanzania. This town teaches us that people are people. Why hurt someone over dumb differences when they share 99.999% of your own DNA? I don’t know if humans will ever live in harmony together, but I know that this is not our best.

Earlier this week, I was asked how I’m going to take what I’ve learned here and put it into practice at home. One of the biggest things I have discovered is how hard the students work here. The education system is so messed up that all the kids have to do their absolute best in order to have any chance at a good future. For this reason, I’ve also seen how important education is to the people here; putting it before anything else, even their own health.  Seeing all this, I tie it together with my own perspective. I don’t believe in past lives or reincarnation, so I ponder why we are born into the lives we have. What did I do to deserve being born in the United States to family and friends that care for me and get me anything I want? Likewise, what did any of these students do to deserve being born in Tanzania into such difficult situations? In my option, nothing. It’s what we do in life that tells us if we deserve it, and we have to work hard to earn it. Because the kids and people here have worked hard enough to earn countless lives of happiness, I sill remind myself every day to try to earn the one I have been given by being the best possible me. Overtime, maybe others will catch on, and just maybe something will change.

Tanzania Blog July 27th

By the end of the school day on Tuesday, I had begun to observe some differences between LOAMO School and educational practices of the U.S.A. When thinking of a developing country like Tanzania, one would not first think about well-dressed people, but that is exactly what you get in Tanzania. I have to say, I was embarrassed of my outfit when I first saw the teachers and students. The male teachers wear nice pants with dress shirts underneath patterned sweaters. The female teachers wear long skirts, nice shirts, and cardigans/sweaters with colorful scarves. Meanwhile, there I was, with my khakis and plain old polo shirt. I wish to impress the teachers with my teaching, but I know that it must start with the way I present myself. As a side note, I must also mention that Mr. Geoffrey, a teacher, wore a bright blue and black suit that he actually rocked. The students all wear grey pants or skirts with grey button-down shirts and red ties, finally topped off with blue sweaters.

Obviously, the school mandates the student’s uniforms, but it’s not just the uniforms that amaze me. Every single student from kinder to class 7 hasn’t a speck of dirt on their pants. Not a single student has a messed up collar. To me this sends a loud, clear message. I hear the 316 students saying how proud they are to be getting an education. We cannot begin to comprehend how important school is to these students. I think back to school at home, and I realize how ungrateful my generation is. We show up to school in sweatpants, short-shorts, tank-tops, and other clothing that says “I don’t really care to be here.” It makes me sad that our society is this way, but the LOAMO school inspires me and fills me with the drive to be the change I wish to see in the world, as Mahatma Ghandi professed, even if it is just dressing proudly.

            In every one’s life, there are the epiphanies, the “a-ha” moment when the paradigm shifts. As is the purpose, my experiences with CGA have brought many of these moments, regarding the world, poverty, society, etc. On Tuesday, I had a very enlightening       “a-ha” moment. The way that the preparatory class schedule works is such that the last two and a half hours of the day are dedicated to games/songs/stories either outside or inside. Tuesday’s outside time began well enough, but when my teacher gave Finn and me the reigns to the sea of 70+ children, I panicked and had no idea what to do. Still scared, we made a weak attempt to teach them a song. I was embarrassed like most people would be standing in front of others singing about funky chicken, but this is when I made the breakthrough. I realized, and not without a thanks to Karlie, that it wasn’t working because we weren’t into it. I discovered how incredibly important the teacher’s energy is, not just for my class at LOAMO in Arusha, Tanzania, but for education as a whole. As a teacher, I have to be the most overly absurd, excessively energetic person in the room. I have to put aside any personal fears or humiliation and just go “full send.” My dad is a 5^th grade teacher at Red Hill Elementary School in Gypsum. Every Friday he dresses up in a tie-dye shirt, a Green Bay Packer cheese tie, and some kind of weird pants. It confused me a little bit until I had my breakthrough on Tuesday. Now, I completely get it. If he is not excited at school, how can he expect his students to be excited? If his students aren’t excited, how can anyone expect them to learn? With this new realization, I feel that I may be getting closer to achieving the goal I had set earlier this week.

At LOAMO, there is rarely a kid who does not smile or laugh all day. But behind these smiling faces are stories of hardship and struggling to survive in a country where the average income per day is $2.50 USD. On Wednesday afternoon, I went on a home visit to hear the unique and tragic story of two of LOAMO’s students. Enock and Ebenezer are brothers in class 3, Enock, 13 years old and Ebenezer, 14.  From what I hear, they are both exceptional students, but they are quiet and have nothing about them that implies a rough home life. However, when we walked into the twelve-by-twelve foot room that was their house, it was clear that they had it harder than most of us can even imagine. No running water, no electricity, no bathrooms. Only a bed, a couch a table, some dishes, and a small kerosene stove.

Their father is living some 300 km way, leaving them only with their loving mother, Lillian. It is hard, though, to care for your children when you are 100% blind. Yes, Enock and Ebenezer’s mother is completely blind. Blinded by a disease at the age of two, she got a primary school education (up to class 7), and continued to live on the same street until she met the boys’ father. Soon after the boys were born, the father left them, only to come back to take them away ant the ages of three and four. He raised the boys as cow herders, with-holding them from an education, and beating them if they so much as mentioned school.  Seven years later, they returned to their mother and lost all contact with their father. As one might expect, their mother has not been able to get a job, and the boys are not old enough to work. Where do they get money? The only way they survive is by the generosity of the rare passerby or friends from their church. The boys are fed at school and their mother makes dinner when she can. For this family, having food is as uncertain as the weather. It crushes my heart to think about how hungry they must be for almost the entirety of their lives, but no one hears a peep out of them. So the next time you feel that the odds are stacked against you, think about Enock and Ebenezer and their silent fight against starvation while they continue their education.

In this past week at LOAMO school, I have seen my confidence soar, met new and interesting people, and been bought down to Earth by the horrible realities of the world. At the beginning of the week, I said I wanted to end each day with excited and happy students. With a new-found attitude, I find this easier to do, but I know I can still improve. I also said I wanted to make connection. In keeping with this, I’ve worked up the courage to listen, ask questions and listen to the stories of a few of the teachers, and I am still looking to start long-lasting friendships. This week, though I have been doing the teaching, I feel I have been the one learning.                                                                                                  

Tanzania Blog July 23rd

We are in the middle of Africa. Arusha, Tanzania is the middle of Africa. Or, at least, that’s what Rasta John told us during our tour on Saturday. He explained that the city is right underneath the equator, halfway between Cape Town and Cairo. I believe him, not because I trust that he is right, but because I feel it. It is not simply a geographic status to me, but a quality experienced only by being here. It is seen only by the eyes of someone gazing at the foothills of Kilimanjaro; it is heard only by the ears of someone joining in on a Maasai tribal dance as a song is sung in unity. Not meaning to take away from Toto, but words are simply insufficient.

            I believe we can all learn something from the people of Tanzania. First of all, I don’t know of another language with more ways to say “Hello, how are you?” And here, they want to hear you say “good”, because they actually care. As Nay, the “African Oprah” put it, Tanzanians have much more time, so there is always time to find out how someone is doing. As we walked through the buildings where disobedient slaves were killed on a daily basis, and stood where they were hung, I learned about an incredible part of Tanzanian society. They are forgetting their history of slavery. No, not forgetting in the sense of leaving it out history all together. The people are letting go of the anger and pain, while still honoring the events that took place. Tanzanians are proud to be who they are, and they are beginning to build a new, exciting future for themselves. This is what amazed me the most about the people in the first few days, and I have a growing admiration for them.

            Sunday was one of the most extraordinary days of my life. As we drove through the dust towards an actual Maasai village, I felt a jumble of feelings of in anticipation. When we arrived, those feelings were met with awe, wonder, curiosity, and everything of the sort. The houses were beautifully simple. The cattle, sheep, and goats were…well, disgusting, but intriguing. The people were different in many ways, but admirable in many more. The children were shy and did not make much eye contact. They had strange medicinal practices, like drinking warm cow’s blood, and men only become men after they are circumcised while being awake at the age of 18. Despite these things that would make many outsiders uncomfortable, I found things that impressed me, such as the fact that the children were given the responsibility of looking after the young animals at a very young age. I was also impressed by the cooperation of the people when catching a cow, making chapatti, or preparing a goat for dinner. Our visit ended with a dance with the warriors, which consisted of singing, dancing, and jumping. For some reason still unknown to me, I was really good at the jumping and became a favorite among the warriors. I think it will take me a long time to comprehend that day.    

            The first day at school was very intimidating. I walked into the Preparatory Class immediately feeling like an alien as the students and teachers stared at me. However, as the day went on, I got myself involved in the class, and I began to relax. The best parts of the day were when all 31 five-year-olds would stand up and sing at the top of their lungs about Chinese people and stomach pains. I have silently promised myself and the teachers that this week I will have the best games and songs for the kids. In the next two weeks, I’m hoping to grow personally to be able to have meaningful conversations with my new friends, and make many connections. In the classroom, I want to end most days with an excited and happy group of students.  I know and look forward to being challenged in order to grow through these goals.